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I have this Brawler and I'm thinking about a dip in bloodrager. I could use some help in picking a bloodline, and especially in tying it in with his background and the Pathfinder world.
As said, Cornil is a brawler, with the mutagenic mauler archetype. The story is that his Sczarni brothers have an alchemical lab, and they're working on assembling a powerful concoction. They've asked Cornil to join the Pathfinder Society to "scout out good business opportunities". In truth, they're using him as a guinea pig to judge the effects of the concoction under various conditions. I've had the idea that the mutagen has some 'otherwordly' element, but I haven't yet had to detail this any further. The bloodrager dip is the perfect opportunity to do so. The bloodline power that I choose for the bloodrager should reflect that 'otherwordly' element that's part of the concoction. His rage ability shows that he is not fully in control any longer; occasionaly the powers of the mutagen manifest, even without him drinking it (possibly due to a trigger that's in line with the origin of those powers?). That's where I could use some help. I've narrowed it down to three broad choices:
Infernal
It's easy to see the blood of a devil being added to the mix. Cornil could be infested with a devil's attitude occasionaly, flying off the handle and letting his 'inner demon' out. It's classic, but also a bit boring. Maybe picking a specific devil could add some flair? On the mechanics side, the 1st-level bloodline power is nice (flaming weapons), but it's only 3 rounds per day.
Celestial
Quite the opposite of the above. There's something creepy to the fact that his Sczarni brothers have an celestial being tied up somewhere, tapping its essence for use in an elixir. The mechanical benefit of this bloodline also seems quite powerful, especially for only a 1-level dip. What I'm not so sure about is the rage, and why the mutagen would inhibit his intelligence. Any ideas what kind of angel/azata/other celestial being could be the donor? Is there anything with a rage-like ability, or with a low-ish intelligence?
Elemental
Mechanically similar to the infernal bloodline, with a bit more choice on what type of damage I'd like to do. Having a tie-in to one of the elements might fit in nicely with the coming season of PFS. It's also logical for a fire elemental to fly into a rage, or perhaps an earth elemental bloodline to go into 'hulk'-mode.
What do you think? Any attractive options I've missed? Any creature in particular that would work well, with that I have in mind?
Maybe Aberrant and say that the concoction is actually mutating him and sapping his intellect? Also you should probably swap Infernal to Abyssal if you want him to unleash his "inner demon".
Tiny nit, but Infernal is lawful. You want Abyssal if it involves lost of control.
Most any of the bloodlines could work with that background, even Fey.
Personally, I would go Aberrant if you are looking for other-worldly corruption. Just don't say Hastur three times.
Are you planning on trading out the bloodline ability for a bloodline familiar? I personally recommend doing so, especially for a dip. But if you do, then there's no real difference between the bloodline options and you can pick whichever you want.
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Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm not going for a familiar. My current idea is to go for the cestus as primary weapon: it has the flavor of an unarmed fighter, while still giving me a weapon to enchant. (I have another character who's an unarmed fighter, and I recently played a monk).
For some reasons, I hadn't considered Aberrant yet. It doesn't really draw my interest, the whole 'corrupted by something bizarre and eee-vil'. It seems like a cop-out, wanting to play an evil/edgy character despite the alignment restrictions of PFS. I suppose I didn't quite make that clear earlier; It's also something that I didn't quite realize myself. I guess for that reason I also shouldn't go for Abyssal or Infernal.
With that said, and with the idea that Celestial is mechanically a pretty decent choice, I think I'll go that way. It would offer some nice roleplay opportunities as well, sometimes played for comedic effect. He'll normally be a quite easy-going fellow, live-and-let-live-type. And then sometimes, he'll fly into rage as the worst kind of paladin, spouting one-liners of vengeance, purgation by fire, and divine retribution. I've checked what types of Archon there are, and if any are particularly fitting. The Hound Archon does the job, I suppose. Doesn't like killing mortals, but shows no mercy against fiends. That could be the trigger for rage. Could even introduce a canine snarl and barking when I'm going into rage. :)
Well, Celestial seems pretty cool and all, and I can definitely see them draining the blood of a celestial creature to get the mutagens, but I think that the Black Blood bloodline could also work. As the alchemists experiment with the mutagens, they could begin trying out new substances to use, new ingredients to add to alter the mutagens, such as black blood. They may have stumbled upon this mysterious substance, trying to see how the guinea pig's body will react to the new ingredient. Then, combined with the alchemical mutagen, your blood could be infused with the black blood, and your character gets their new bloodline.
I think Elemental could be pretty cool.
Quiz time! What's the most ethically questionable ingredient of a golem!
Answer: An Earth Elemental bound to it.
They do all sorts of freaky stuff in their lab, and tried to alchemically bind an earth elemental to you to compare the results between humans and golems.
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That's actually a really interesting suggestion. The essence of an earth elemental fits perfectly with the benefits of the mutagen: +Str, - Int and +Natural Armor. It also allows for quite specific visual clues: stonelike gray skin, angular muscles, etc.
For further effect, I could put a skill point in Linguistics to learn Terran, and have Cornil bragging that they are very close to a deal with Barthus Ardor of Kaer Maga.
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I think Elemental could be pretty cool.
Quiz time! What's the most ethically questionable ingredient of a golem!
Answer: An Earth Elemental bound to it.
They do all sorts of freaky stuff in their lab, and tried to alchemically bind an earth elemental to you to compare the results between humans and golems.
And don't forget that the energy type for Earth is Acid! That's the most alchemy-themed energy type!